Hong Kong Jeweller Tse Sui Luen (TSL) has moved to target the Chinese middle class, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
TSL has announced plans to open 100 outlets in the Chinese mainland within two years, taking its total number of stores to 487.
The firm’s deputy chairman and chief strategy officer Estella Ng Yi-kum commented that “Even though the yuan is on a downward trend, we have strategies to adjust pricing and use product designs to fit the appetite of our customers to boost sales.”
She said that China will be “the growth engine for TSL for the coming 20 years,” attributing this to the rise of the Chinese middle class, which is expected to flourish under changes planned for China’s tax code.
Ng did admit to concerns about the weakening of the RMB making TSL products more expensive for Chinese shoppers in Hong Kong and devaluing TSL’s assets in China comparative to the US Dollar-pegged HKD. The firm will address these issues strategically by potentially raising prices in China and focusing on smaller, more profitable diamonds.
“We use design to make a 0.3 carat diamond look like half a carat,” Ng said. “So we can have a good margin and attract customers.”
